Do Ghosts Exist?
by Frontline
Summary: Following a mysterious energy surge, strange events start occurring on the Enterprise. A short Halloween fic...


**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

_Captain's Log_

_Stardate 76775.9. _

_Having completed our diplomatic mission to Khivana III, the Enterprise is en-route to Starbase 79 for crew rotation before a two week patrol of the Klingon Neutral Zone. With the increasing political unrest within the Empire, the Federation feels that a high profile presence will help prevent the situation from escalating. Personally, I feel that the presence of the Federation flagship will only serve to increase tensions..._

With a sigh, Captain Picard sat back from his desk. Tall and balding, he had greying hair at his temples. He understood that the volatility in the Klingon Empire posed a threat to the Federation, a show of force was not the answer. He was about to resume his Log when the lights flickering, plunging his Ready Room into darkness for a moment. As the lights came back on, he stood up, straightening his tunic as he strode out onto the Bridge.

'Report, Number One,' He said, Commander Riker looking round from where he was standing next to the Ops Console. Dark-haired with broad-shoulders, he was clean-shaven with blue eyes.

'Captain, we were struck by an unknown energy surge. So far, we've been unable to identify the source...'

'It was extremely powerful, Captain,' Commander Data added from the Ops Station. Despite his humanoid form, his pale skin and yellow eyes betrayed his android status. 'Our EPS Systems were overloaded for several seconds...'

'Thank you, Mr Data,' Picard said, tapping his commbadge.

'Picard to Engineering...'

'_Singh here, Captain. We've got reports of shipwide power fluctuations. We're conducting a Level 4 diagnostic of key systems...'_

'Acknowledged, Mr Singh,' Picard said. 'Carry on...'

'_Aye, Captain,' _Singh said, signing off and Picard turned to the Helm, where Lieutenant LaForge was seated. Dark-skinned, his eyes were hidden behind the VISOR that he wore.

'Mr LaForge, resume course for Starbase 79...'

'Aye, Captain...'

#################

'Cadet Syna,' Dr Crusher said, picking up another PADD from her desk and skimming it quickly, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. 'Another week of physio and rest,' she said, handing the PADD to Nurse Ogawa as the lights flickered for a second.

'What was that?' She asked and Crusher frowned.

'I'm not sure. Crusher to Engineering...'

'B...Barclay here, Doctor...'

'We've just had a power fluctuation in Sickbay...'

'Y...yes. We're investigating the cause, now. We'll contact you when we know something. Barclay, out...'

'...thank you,' Crusher said, Ogawa shrugging as she picking up another PADD.

'Ensign Carter's still under Quarantine...

#################

'Strength alone is not enough,' Lieutenant Yar said, her gaze sweeping across the assembled security team. 'However strong you are, eventually, you'll meet someone stronger. Lieutenant Worf,' she added, addressing the Klingon in front of her, recognisable by his distinctive ridged forehead and metal baldric that he wore over his uniform.

'Lieutenant,' He said, stepping forward with his hands clasped behind his back.

'Attack me,' Yar said. Without any warning, Worf struck and Yar dodged his punch, wrapping her arm across his shoulder and shifting her hip, forcing him two his knees.

'Strength will only take you so far,' Yar repeated. 'That's where you need technique. Mr Worf.'

Worf shifted his weight, his leg spearing out to sweep Tasha's foot and she rolled with the fall, slapping her arms on the mat to absorb the impact.

'Very good,' Yar said, clasping Worf's extended forearm and getting back to her feet. 'Even though I seemed to have the advantage, there is usually an opening to exploit. All right, pair and practice that manuever. I want to see you all sweat...

#################

'Dammit. Look at that,' Chief O'Brien said, as he removed the ODN access panel. A heavyset man with a cheerful expression, he was dressed in the yellow uniform of the Operations Division.

'The conduits are completely fried,' he added, glancing over at Lt Torres, a dark-haired and muscular man. 'Whatever hit us really packed a whallop...'

Opening his engineering kit, his pulled out a duotronic probe, just as the lights flickered and failed, plunging the corridor into darkness.

'What the hell?' O'Brien said, activating his wrist beacon and strapping it on. 'Sorry, sir...'

'That's alright, Chief,' Torres said, with a grin, trailing off as he heard a faint voice.

'_...help...'_

'...did you hear that, Chief?' He asked, just as the lights flickered and came back on.

'...probably just a power surge in the communications circuits,' O'Brien said, tapping his commbadge. 'O'Brien to Engineering. We've had a power fluctuation on Deck 6, Section 42. We're going to need to run some additional diagnostics...'

'_Acknowledged, Chief...'_

#################

'I didn't think it would be this hard,' Ensign Sarvi gulped, staring down at his boots, his hands gripping his knees. 'When I was at the Academy, I could still get a shuttle home at least once a month...'

With a deep breath, he sat back, running his hands through his blonde hair.

'...I don't know. Maybe I'm not cut out for deep space assignments...'

'It's always difficult at first,' Deanna said, with a sad smile. Despite her rank of Commander, she preferred to wear more neutral jumpsuits in her role of Counsellor, her black hair pulled back into a tight bun. 'Have you tried talking to some of the other Ensigns about how you feel? They might be able to offer you a different perspective. I guarantee that each of them will have felt homesick at some point...'

'What about you?' Sarvi asked and Deanna hesitated.

'...sometimes. My Mother and I...we don't always see eye to eye...'

'...yeah,' Sarvi said, standing up. 'Thanks, Counsellor Troi. I'll...think about what you said...'

#################

..._matter and anti-matter annilhation results in the release of energy proportional to..._

Wesley looked up from his workstation as the lights flickered for a second. With a shrug, he turned back to his terminal just as the door to the study room hissed open.

'Hi, Wes,' Dr Crusher said. 'How's your homework going...?'

'Nearly done, Mom,' Wesley said. 'I've just got to finish reading this...'

'Great. Give me half an hour and we can get some dinner...'

'Okay...'

#################

'Commander,' Data said. 'I am detecting a power fluctuation in Shuttle Bay 2...'

'Cause, Mr Data?' Riker asked.

'Unknown,' Data replied. 'The fluctuation is affecting the EPS conduits. I calculate that the possibility of a rupture will rise to 95.6% in 7 minutes and 3 seconds...'

'Riker to Shuttle Bay 2...'

'Lieutenant O'Hanan here, Commander...'

'Report, Lieutenant...'

'We've lost main power and computer control. We're evacuating, now...'

'Data, can you shut down the EPS conduits to the Shuttle Bay?'

'I am attempting to re-route through the secondary conduits,' Data said, his fingers flying over the keys. 'EPS conduits are offline...'

'Lieutenant O'Hanan,' Riker said. 'EPS conduits are stabilised. How long will it take to restore computer control...?'

'30 minutes, maybe 35...'

'Alright,' Riker said. 'Keep me informed. Riker out...'

#################

Guinan stood up from behind the bar in Ten Forward, clasping the bottle she had been searching for, when the lights went out. As her eyes adjusted to the pale starlight coming through the viewport, she thought she saw a movement out of the corner of her eyes. Her head whipped round as the lights came on and she caught a glimpse of a humanoid figure.

'Ten-Forward to Security,' she said, tapping her commpanel on the bar. 'Intruder alert...'

#################

'Guinan?' Tasha said, as she and Worf entered Ten-Forward, finding her standing by the bar. Dark-skinned with piercing eyes, she wore a dark purple dress and hat. 'What happened?'

'There was a power failure,' Guinan said. 'When the lights came back on, I saw a figure for a second...'

'Worf,' Tasha said, drawing her Phaser as Worf pulled out his Tricorder.

'I'm detecting no other lifesigns,' he said, closing it and slipping it back into his holster.

'I suppose I might have imagined it,' Guinan said and Tasha shook her head.

'I've never known you to imagine things. Besides, there have been other incidents over the last hour. For now, I think you should return to your Quarters. We need to speak to the Captain...'

#################

'Come,' Picard said, putting down his PADD, the door to his Ready Room hissing open to admit Yar and Worf.

'Yes, Lieutenant?' Picard asks, Yar glancing across at Worf.

'We...think we may have an intruder onboard,' she said. 'Guinan thought she saw something in Ten Forward and Chief O'Brien heard a voice on Deck 6. Combine that with the power fluctuations...'

'It's unusual,' Picard agreed. 'Even so, how could this intruder have got onboard...?'

'The energy surge that struck the Enterprise could have covered a transporter signature...'

'It's just a theory, Yar said. 'We're going to go over the sensor logs to see if we can find any evidence of transporter activity or unexpected lifesigns...'

'Very well,' Picard said. 'Keep me informed...'

#################

'I've completed a shipwide scan for lifesigns,' Worf said, turning away from his terminal. 'However, considering the complement of the Enterprise, the result cannot be considered entirely reliable. We may need to consider a deck-by-deck search...'

'That may not be necessary,' Yar said, leaning over her own terminal. I'm picking up a faint energy signature from Deck 7 that the computer can't identify. It's probably just a side-effect of the power surges, but we should check it out to be sure...'

#################

'This way,' Tasha said, glancing at her tricorder as she and Worf stepped out of the turbolift. As they made their way along the corridor, Tasha felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

'Do you feel that?' She asked, just as the lights failed and she felt something strike her in the chest...

#################

'Uhnn...'

'She's coming round,' Tasha heard Dr Crusher say, pushing herself up with a groan.

'What happened,' Tasha asked, trying to swing her legs off the biobed, until Crusher restrained her.

'Hold on,' she said. 'You were struck by an energy surge that overloaded your nervous systems...'

'How's Worf?' Tasha asked.

'He's fine,' Crusher said, picking up her tricorder, running the scanning wand over her. 'He took less of the blast than you, so I discharged him...'

'Do we know what caused the surge,' Tasha asked and Crusher shook her head.

'No. Data and LaForge are in Engineering, trying to find the source. Hey, where are you going...?'

#################

'Commander?' Tasha said, as she stormed into Engineering.

'Yes, Lieutenant?' Riker said, turning away from where he had been leaning over LaForge's shoulder. 'I thought you were in Sickbay...?'

'I'm fine, sir,' Tasha said. 'Have you been able to trace the source of the energy disturbance that Worf and I encountered...?'

'I'm scanning, now' La Forge said, without looking round from his console. 'Hold on. I'm detecting a power spike...'

'Location, Mr LaForge...'

'...here, sir,' La Forge said, as the lights failed, being replaced a second later by the red glare of the emergency lighting. As their eyes adjusted, they saw a pale, translucent figure in front of the Warp Core for a few seconds, before fading away.

'Did anyone else see that?' Riker asked.

#################

'I don't know how else to describe it, Captain,' Riker said, as the Ready Room door closed behind him. 'It was like the old ghost stories...'

'Commander,' Picard said. 'Are you saying that you saw a ghost?'

'No. But it might explain those stories...'

'Despite being explorers,' Picard said. 'There are something's that are best left unknown...'

**Thank you for reading. I hoped you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.**


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